1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to phone conferencing, and in particular to user controllability in social group phone conferencing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Collaborative discussion and social interaction serve various purposes in today's economy. The exchange of ideas and viewpoints helps to encourage innovation and technical advancement. For example, at cafes on university campuses, worldwide, people meet to discuss issue covering various topics. Continuous conversations go on at tables involving the participants. People talk, drink coffee, or have lunch.
As the day goes on, some participants may leave and others may join the discussion, such that by evening, none of the original conversationalists are still left. However, they may return the next day to converse and socialize again. If one is accepted into one of these groups, he or she would simply pull up a chair and sit down. They may or may not participate in the conversation depending on the subject matter and where it went. Sometimes certain groups discussing one issue may join another group and continue a discussion.
The potential of this unstructured form of collaboration between people has been proven time and again to be virtually limitless. Often a chance comment will open the door to innumerable passages of thought. Those chance comments must be enabled and encouraged. Although such dialogue has its usefulness, its shortcomings are evident in that such discussions are limited by time, geographic location, and convenience. Accordingly, the inventor of the present invention realized the need to overcome these impediments as addressed by the present invention.